Dry chemical fire extinguishers are well known in the art and utilize a powdered or granular dry chemical which is discharged from a cylinder by the force of a pressurized gas such as carbon dioxide. Conventionally the discharge of the dry chemical is accomplished through a flexible tube having a terminal orifice which directs the dry chemical in a well-defined stream with sufficient velocity that the dry chemical may be effectively delivered at distances of twenty feet or more. Thus dry chemical extinguishers have a good standoff capability, however in some circumstances it is possible and even desirable to get much closer to the fire. At close range, the dry chemical particles being sprayed onto the fire at high velocity can actually spread the fire by breaking loose burning material and knocking it away from the point of impact of the dry chemical stream.